Through the Honam Region Startup-Centered University Project, JBNU, which has taken the lead in discovering and nurturing entrepreneurs with outstanding technologies, is also intensifying its support for local start-ups' expansion into overseas markets.

The JBNU Startup Support Center announced on the 23rd that it will hold the "Korea-Vietnam B2C Megatrend Exhibition (MEGA-US EXHIBITION 2022)" in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from September 21 to 22 to promote regional start-ups' overseas advancement.

Scheduled to be held at the GEM Center in Ho Chi Minh City, the Korea-Vietnam B2C Megatrend Exhibition is the largest overseas fair involving 14 start-up-related organizations from the Honam region, including the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. Approximately 100 domestic start-ups and about 200 Vietnamese buyers and distributors are expected to participate, and the event is projected to attract an average of some 5,000 visitors per day.

To prepare for the event, the Startup Support Center held a pre-conference on the 23rd at the Saigon Innovation Hub Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Attendees at the pre-conference included Nguyen Man Khuong, Deputy Director of the Southern Region, Department of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City; Kim Seong-jong, Head of the JBNU Startup Support Center; Lee Byeong-ryeol, Head of the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation; Nguyen Kim Tuoc, Director of the Saigon Innovation Hub; Shim Jae-yoon, Commercial Consul at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Ho Chi Minh City; and Han Kyung-jun, Deputy Director of the KOTRA Ho Chi Minh Trade Office.

At the pre-conference, participants celebrated 30 years of exchanges between Korea and Vietnam. The program included a forum on ways to revitalize trade between the two countries and networking with local economic organizations such as the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) and the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA).

In addition, JBNU and the Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy and Innovation signed separate MOUs with the Ho Chi Minh ICT Association (HCA) and the Vietnam Business Group to ensure a dynamic exhibition operation, and they held a press conference for 13 local Vietnamese media outlets to announce the exhibition.

Kwon Dae-gyu, Director of the JBNU Startup Support Center, said, "Providing various opportunities for domestic start-ups to expand overseas is one of the major tasks for start-up support organizations," adding, "Starting with this Korea-Vietnam B2C Megatrend Exhibition, JBNU will spare no effort to help more start-ups realize their overseas expansion ambitions."